Love letter, love letter to Motley

(today I'm linking up for Blogtember with Jenni and hundreds of other bloggers. The prompt is to write a public love letter so someone in your life, not necessarily romantic)

Dear Motley,

I'm sure some of my readers will be rolling my eyes at who I chose to write this 'letter' to, but I want to put some thoughts and memories down on paper so I can look back at them later, and it seems like you would be the most fun to write about.

Before your Daddy and I decided to ever get a dog, I told him that I would name my next dog "Motley" and he didn't like the name. He would bring it up in conversation and ask people how dumb it sounded. Well, in November 2011 we started talking about getting a dog and when we had decided to go for it, you won out over "Maple" and your name was set before we ever met you.

I was open to all sorts of dogs but your dad was pretty picky on what he wanted. I guess you could take that as a compliment? He REALLY wanted a blue heeler and would not let that go! We almost went with an Australian Shepherd but we didn't want to fork over $300 for a dog so we let that one pass us by. 

One day I saw a listing for a 'blue heeler border collie mix' on Craigslist with the sweetest pictures of baby puppies (only 5 weeks old!). I called the owner immediately from the warehouse of my old job and asked a bunch of questions about the puppies she had. She was listing them each for a whopping $25 which was within our price range, and she had 6 puppies. I narrowed down the girls and then asked about each one of them. Ultimately, she told me that you were her favorite and that she would let you in at night to cuddle with her but the others stayed outside. I asked her to hold you for us until we could come pick you up on Friday.

Mark and I were both super giddy and we bought a crate and endless dog toys and treats for our new puppy. I left work early Friday and we headed out to Red Oak to pick up our Craigslist puppy. You were the last puppy left and she had saved you for us. When we got there, you were running around the yard like crazy and chasing your mommy. You reeked of smoke and were dirty. We gave the owner $30 and got back in the car. Your owners last words were "She's a biter!"

You were teeny tiny and slept peacefully in my lap the whole way home. We put you in the yard to play and the grass covered your legs! The next day, on Saturday, we took you to the vet. You were 6 weeks old that day and 6 pounds. You slept most of the time!

I had to set my alarm the first few weeks in the middle of the night to get up and let you out to potty. You weren't too difficult to potty train, luckily. We had bells by the door and you quickly learned to ring them to go outside. I would scoop you up with one hand because it was a few weeks before you could go up or down the stairs at our apartment!

Since then, you have been so much fun to watch grow yet still remain a puppy through and through. You are smart, playful, and definitely a biter. You writhe and tackle anyone that comes over, but only out of love. You are the snuggliest puppy I've ever had and you gladly curl up with me at any moment. 

Mark and I have made you the third member of our family and we both care so much about you! Even though you have an awesome back yard now, we still can't wait to get home to give you some love and cuddles. 

Your favorite thing to do is wrestle with daddy. You get VICIOUS and have learned his weak spot (funny bone-elbow). I can't help but laugh when you growl and try to take him down. You can't go a day without getting your wrestling in!

Momo, mots, motters, momosita, momosa, Motley, we love you so much! Thank you for being our favorite pup and loving us unconditionally!

Love, Mommy and Daddy